He helped start a half-dozen technology companies in Dallas -
with creative names such as MotorSport Ranch and Big in Japan -
since the late 1990s. He sold three of them for tens of millions of
dollars; he still runs the others.

LayerOne, a telecommunications infrastructure company he started
in 1999, went bankrupt. Muse raised $4 million in venture capital
to buy back the assets and relaunch the company. He sold it to
Switch & Data for $22 million on Sept. 12, 2001.

"I was supposed to sign the deal on Sept. 11. That was so scary.
I had a newborn baby, a big new house and a Porsche. I thought, 'If
this doesn't happen, I could lose it all,' " said Muse, 38. "We
ended up making a lot of money, but we lost a lot of money for a
lot of people. That was a turning point for me."

Early on, Muse named himself CEO of all his ventures. But he
learned his attention span was limited to about two years.

"I'm more effective being part of a leadership team than the
leader," he said.

Now he finds partners to incubate ideas at Architel, an IT
outsourcing company he started in 2001. If successful, they're spun
off with a CEO who has an equity stake in the company.

Muse focuses on Architel and ShopSavvy, a cellphone application
that lets users scan a product's bar code to compare prices online
and at local stores. Revenue reached $11.5 million at Architel and
$1 million at ShopSavvy in 2009. Both turn a profit.

With a foosball table and a giant Incredible Hulk at his Dallas
Infomart office, Muse created a fun place to work as well as a
nurturing environment for budding entrepreneurs. He shares spare
office space, invests in promising ideas and holds monthly happy
hours where he foots the bar tab.

In 2005, Muse launched the Texas Startup Blog and co-founded
SpringStage in 2008 as an online network to promote local
entrepreneurship.

An avid blogger, Muse writes about his adventures, attracting at
least 175,000 online followers. Soon, he plans to start a blog
called the Startup Muse.

Next? Muse wants to develop apps that integrate social networks
with services.

THE MUSE FILE

Born: Portsmouth, Va.

Education: Bachelor's degree in history from the University of
Texas

Motivation: The idea that anything is possible

Biggest challenge: To focus on what we're doing, not what our
competitors are doing. If I focus on my competitors, I can't sleep,
I get physically sick, and I'm apparently a nightmare to live
with.

Management philosophy: I wish I had one of those. I guess it
would be aligning my interests with the people who work for me.

Best asset: My family. Wife, Michele; son Ethan, 8; daughter
Erin, 2

Ideal vacation: Staying home

Most extravagant purchase: A BMW M5 for about $110,000 on eBay
without consulting my wife

Wheels: BMW 750il

Last meal request: My mom's lasagna

Favorite flick: Patton

Reading: True Blue by David Baldacci

Advice for a 20-year-old entrepreneur wannabe: Go work for the
coolest company you can find in your field of interest. Stay there
for a year or two, and get another job at a cool company. Then find
a problem that needs solving. ABOUT THE SERIES

This is the first profile in a monthly series about serial
entrepreneurs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The series introduces
people who have started multiple businesses and the lessons they've
learned that might help other local entrepreneurs.